The Senate has directed the North-Central Development Commission to make agriculture and security the core focus of its 2026 budget, insisting that spending must directly address the region’s most pressing needs.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Senator Titus Zam, issued the charge when the commission’s management appeared before the committee to defend its 2026 budget estimates. The session began behind closed doors, as lawmakers scrutinised the commission’s proposals line by line before emerging with a clear set of priorities.

Briefing journalists after the closed-door meeting, Zam said the committee had examined all items in the budget and found them broadly relevant to the North-Central zone, but stressed that implementation must be firmly anchored on the commission’s core mandate.

He explained that the NCDC was created to drive targeted development in a region grappling with insecurity, displacement, and underinvestment, and therefore could not afford diffuse or symbolic spending. According to him, the commission’s interventions must be concentrated in sectors that can quickly improve livelihoods and stabilise communities.

Zam listed agriculture, security, health, education, public infrastructure and social services as the key pillars around which the 2026 budget should revolve. He noted that the North-Central remains predominantly agrarian, with millions depending on farming and related activities, making agricultural investment both an economic and security imperative.

He added that the commission was expected to work closely with security experts and agencies operating in the region to design programmes that support law enforcement, protect farming communities and restore confidence in rural areas repeatedly hit by violence.

The lawmaker, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget, describing the slow execution as part of a wider national challenge. He warned that without timely and effective implementation, even well-designed budgets would fail to deliver tangible benefits.

Zam disclosed that the committee had considered and endorsed a total estimate of N140 billion for the NCDC’s 2026 financial year, to be appropriated for projects and programmes that can demonstrably improve security, revive agriculture and rebuild critical infrastructure across the North-Central states.

He said the committee’s resolution was that every naira allocated must translate into visible impact on the ground, particularly for rural communities that bear the brunt of insecurity and economic hardship.